The goal of the IPBS is to validate tissue and serum biomarkers prospectively for clinical use. Although there is general agreement that molecular markers have the potential to improve the ability to diagnose and treat men with prostate cancer, to date none have achieved clinical utility. The SPORE solicited applications for candidate biomarkers. UCLA submitted applications on p27, PSCA, PTEN and other markers based on its track record of discovery and publication on these genes. The SPORE commissioned a meta-analysis of published work to prioritize biomarkers for both prospective and retrospective study. P27 was one of a small number of biomarkers chosen for prospective evaluation, with both UCLA and Dana Farber selected as sites for performing the assay. UCLA's Pathology and Biostatistics Core have been integrally involved in the IPBS. The Pathology Core participated in a prospective study to evaluate the effect of tissue fixation on biomarkers, submitting a series of cases to a central facility for processing. UCLA's Pathology Core has also agreed to participate fully in the study, including collection and processing of specimens according to the protocol. Slides for p27 will be sent to UCLA for staining and scoring. The IPBS was targeted as the first inter-SPORE study that would utilize the tools and infrastructure selected and developed for the NBN. The Cancer Biolnformatics Grid (caBIG) tool set referred to as the caTissue Suite was identified early on (in 2004) by an informatics team from several of the SPORE sites as an ideal software solution that would meet the needs of the NBN. However, the delivery of the caTissue suite was delayed to the point that the IPBS informatics working group elected to move forward with a short-term solution while each of the 11 sites works out details of implementation of caTissue at their respective institutions. UCLA has participated in this entire process, including the NBN informatics meetings, the IPBS informatics working group, and efforts to clarify adoption issues related to relevant caBIG tools. In addition, the IPBS informatics working group selected the open source protocol tracker software suite called pTracker developed at UCLA by the Computing Technologies Research Lab to support the IPBS needs until caTissue mature to the point that it and related tools can used.